The Athletic Equestrian - by Sally Batton & Christina Keim (Paperback)

About the Book

"Learn winning Division I collegiate riding coach Sally Batton's time-proven warm-up and her exciting "Equicize" routine: a series of progressive exercises similar to aerobics on horseback. Batton's recommendations help you build and strengthen the major muscle groups used by equestrian athletes, and all exercises can be customized so you can raise or lower the intensity as needed to suit your age, level, and riding style."--

Book Synopsis

A proven rider training system to sharpen position and vastly improve skill in the saddle.

Whether competing in the show ring or riding at home on the trail, every rider wants to be more secure and balanced in the saddle and effective with their aids. This innovative guide uses highly effective exercises to develop your athleticism on horseback so you can say goodbye to common rider problems, such as:

• Swinging lower legs.


• Stiff arms.


• Trouble balancing over the horse's center of gravity.


• Half-halts that go unanswered.


• Incorrect mechanics, on the flat and in the jumping position.


• And more.

Division I collegiate riding coach Sally Batton has spent over 30 years perfecting her methods specifically designed to refine and polish riders, whatever their level. In her work with hundreds of varsity team athletes, she found that trouble with position and lack of specific horsemanship skills happens for two reasons: First, riders may not have an understanding of the biomechanics required to maintain the correct position. Second, they may not have attained the suppleness and strength required to maintain a fluid, elastic position on the horse.

Her secret to combatting these difficulties won her teams dozens of championships and awards through the years. Here you learn both her time-proven warm-up and her exciting "Equicize" routine: a series of progressive exercises similar to aerobics on horseback. Batton's recommendations help you build and strengthen the major muscle groups used by equestrian athletes, and all exercises can be customized so you can raise or lower the intensity as needed to suit your age, level, and riding style. Plus, readers find dozens of creative training "hacks" that will get them on their way to greater levels of riding proficiency in no time at all.

Review Quotes

"Sally Batton's The Athletic Equestrian
demonstrates that truly anyone can be a student of riding. Her wonderfully
illustrative guide covers the fundamentals of the sport, and progresses through
strength development to the nuances of skill advancement. She has created, in
essence, a self-guided tour down the path of equitation, allowing athletes with
a limited access to in-person training resources a visual presentation of the
fundamentals, as well as even the most experienced riders a 'behind the
curtain' look at catch-riding in the collegiate format. The Athletic Equestrian
is a wonderful tool for the competitive athlete but also a fun refresher for
those of us with decades in the sport--I will certainly be 'borrowing' a few of
Sally's innovative teaching tips!"--Vanessa Bartsch, Executive Director & Head Coach,
Stanford Equestrian

"I've been a huge fan of Sally Batton and her training
programs for years, and my admiration for her only grew after reading this
wonderful new book! I'm certain that riders of all ages and disciplines will
both enjoy and benefit from the amazing variety of lessons and exercises
contained in The Athletic Equestrian! Our sport is so lucky to have
Sally!" --Daniel Stewart, Equestrian Sport Psychology, Fitness
and Performance Coach, author of Bolder-Braver-Brighter and Fit
and Focused in 52

"An endless toolbox of tips and strategies for riders, and
not just for those who aspire to be varsity athletes.... The Athletic
Equestrian is, of all things, practical. In it are all manner of easily grasped
concepts and exercises.... Catch riding is hard. If you can catch ride, you can
ride when the pressure is less amped, and here in this book are lots of real
ways to help you do just that." --Denny
Emerson, USEA Hall-of-Fame Inductee and Author of Begin and Begin
Again, Know Better to Do Better, and How Good Riders Get Good

"This comprehensive instructional manual will help riders of
all ages and abilities develop and strengthen muscles that are essential for a
stable and effective position in the saddle. This is a book that you will refer
to time and time again!" --Northeast Equestrian Life

"I have known Sally Batton for several years now, having
met her through the IHSA. I have had the pleasure of judging her IHSA shows at
Dartmouth College along with some AEL shows. While judging the IHSA shows I was
able to see firsthand the results of her instructional methods used in training
her IHSA riders. There is no doubt, after observing how well her riders rode
that her methods do work and can create a very effective, secure riding
position, that is also classically correct. The Athletic Equestrian
should be in the library of every collegiate and scholastic coach." --Nancy Kohler-Cunningham, USEF "r"
Hunters/Equitation, IEA Executive Board of Directors, Lake Erie College Senior
Hunt Seat Coach, IHSA Zone 6/Region 1 President

"I absolutely LOVE the book. I was hooked and read the
whole thing in three days. I tried some of the techniques during an eq ride, WOW--what
an impact. The power leg is absolute gold on my wriggly and bouncy guy!! Sally
Batton's ability to break down feel is uncanny." --Ali Hartman, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Founder of
EqFit

About the Author

Sally
Batton holds an Equestrian Studies degree from Lake Erie College
in Ohio, and a master's degree in Communications from Fairleigh-Dickinson
University in New Jersey. She was the head coach of the Dartmouth College
Division I Varsity Equestrian Team for 30 years, coaching dozens of riders to
regional, zone, and national titles. In 2020, Coach Batton was inducted into
the inaugural class of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association Hall of
Fame. She currently travels all over the United States, teaching clinics to riders
of all ages and levels. Batton is the author, with co-writer Christina Keim,
of Equicize, also published by
Trafalgar Square Books. An avid polocrosse enthusiast, Batton is a certified
APA Polocrosse Coach and the author of Polocrosse:
Australian Made, Internationally Played (Belcris, 1990). Batton is
the Founder and President of the Athletic Equestrian League, an organization
offering horsemanship education and competition opportunities to both English
and Western riders, from first grade through adult. She is also the host of the
popular Athletic Equestrian Riding in College Podcast. An avid hiker and
outdoor enthusiast, when not on the road teaching, Batton can be found hiking
the hills of New Hampshire, kayaking in the summers, and skiing and snowshoeing
in the winter (athleticequestrian.com).

Christina Keim, M Ed, MFA, is an
award-winning narrative journalist with over 1,000 published articles to her
credit. Her work has appeared in The Chronicle of the Horse,
UnTacked, Equine Journal, Practical Horseman, The Eastern Equerry, Northeast
Equestrian Life, Green Mountain Horse Association Magazine, Woodstock
Magazine, and The Plaid
Horse, among others. With Sally Batton, she is the co-writer
of Equicize, also published by
Trafalgar Square Books. For nearly two decades a top intercollegiate hunter
seat coach, Keim now teaches compassionate horsemanship and offers equine-assisted
coaching out of her Cold Moon Farm in Rochester, New Hampshire
(christinakeim.com).